
Class 



Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



M©yi|teaiFi 



:• liaise •:• 



SUMMirn OP TJHB fiLLEGHANIES, 



/ 

By ^. G. ^ANGBOI^N. 



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illustrated by B. H. 8mitb. 



CHICAGO: 

KNIGHT AND LEONARD. 

1884. 




Copyright, 1884, 

By C. K. Lord. 



KKIGHT & LEONARD . 



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JiOUNTAIN fcAKE iARK. 

.-■ E are off for the Alleijhanies ! Bag- 
i^^aoe packed and expressed, the hot 
sun pouring down its burning rays, 
the engine with its long train panting 
^^^f to be set free upon its iron pathway, 

c/^ ' the ring of the bell, and we are gone. 

We have left "old ills" and cares be- 
hind us, and we are absolutely " out of 
the dunii)s " and have sworn ttj be at 
-.. peace with the world — at least for a 

7'^-.. month. The advantages of travel on a 



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railway are so complete, and distance is of 
so little account nowadays, that one in his 
splendidly equipped car would imagine he was sim- 
ply taking his ease in some drawing room, did he not 
look from his window to see the objects like dreams flitting 
past. The Baltimore & Ohio Company has not spared means 
or skill in the fullest equipment of its lines. The comfort it 
affords its patrons is unsurpassed, while the unparalleled 
scenery along its route is its grandest feature. 

Here we come to a halt at the very summit of the mount- 
ains, three thousand feet above the level of the sea, and 
midway between the famous resorts of Deer Park and Oak- 
land we find MOUNTAIN Lake Park, "Beautiful for situa- 
tion," a natural gem rapidly receiving as superb a setting as 
art can '''ive it, a wilderness which is being " made to blossom 



as the rose." The I'ark contains eight hundred and fifty 
acres. Three hunch-ed of these have been cleared, a\'enues 
carefully laid off and named, the natural drainage has been 
supplemented by engineering' skill, and a large number of 



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cottages, varying in size, style and cost, has been erected, 
twenty-three within the past year, some of great beauty 
and of substantial character. The artist finds ample subjects 
for his pencil in this sequestered, shady villa, where he beholds 
ornamentation and modesty harmonizing, and surrounded 
with the thick green foliage of " nature's own '" oaks. 

The best of roads for carriages have been constructed, 
already aggregating from eight to ten miles within the 
grounds. Here is a quaint, peaceful " city of magnificent dis- 
tances," whose avenues are broad and long, and where crowd- 
ing is out of the question. Under the tall and arching trees 
the sunlight and shadows play, and now and then one catches 
a glimpse of a towering mountain peak in the dreamy gray of 
the distance, adding a peculiar charm to the carefully planned 
avenues. Again has the B. & O. manifested its interest in the 
success of the Park by constructing a fine roadway from the 
Deer Park grounds to Mountain Lake, and thence by Lake 
Youghiogheny, along the mountain ridge, southward, making 
a complete circuit of road bed, thus affording the best oppor- 
tunities to those who enjoy the pleasure of a picturesque 
mountain drive. 

Of course the trees here have not been reared in infancy in 
the nursery, and been taught how to grow, and where. The 
flowers have not been cultivated amid advantages of the hot 
house. These are in their native mountain freedom and glory, 
and richer foliage never hung from branches, and sweeter 
wild flowers never bloomed amid the rocks and rich 
mosses, or lifted their plumes of snow or purple amid the 
rank green grasses of the meadow, where birds of many 
crests and songs build their nests hard by "the liquid lapse 
of murmuring streams." The study of botany is a feature in 



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the educational advantages of the Park, and ample practical 
experience can be found by the diligent student. 

Nothing can contribute more to the attractiveness of a 
summer resort than the cool, refreshing springs that gurgle 
from the rocks, or the silvery streams that feed the lake 



and heighten the beauty of the landscape. There is the 
" Little YoLigh," flowing from its source in the mountain and 
threading the grassy glades, where countless numbers of 
daisies, " mountain sweets," sprinkle their pure white and 
yellow along the banks. A rustic bridge spans the stream, 
and near by is a rustic summer house, inviting a call and a 
rest, gratefully accepted by the multitude that thread their 
way from the depot to the park grounds. 

A lake, mirror-like and serene, lies before us, made up of the 
waters of the "Broad F'ord Run," the united flow of twenty- 
three springs of pure water. The boat house is handsomel}- 
constructed, and boats are constantly in readiness for those 
who enjoy a row in the cool evening and soft moonlight. 

There are many excellent springs, the principal. " Crystal 
Springs," being famed for its sweetness and sufficiency. Par- 
tially inclosed by a cluster of thickly foliaged bushes and small 
trees, it issues from the fissured rocks of the mountain side 
and speeds on over the white pebbles and stones, murmuring 
welcome and refreshment to the visitor who, once there, must 
needs come again. 

Of the healthiness of this resort of the mountains no one 
will entertain a doubt. To the fatigued or languid, who need 
change and rest, no atmosphere could be more exhilarating. 
There are no miasms here, no stagnant waters with decayed 
vegetable matter, and putrid with disease. An altitude of 
three thousand feet will drive away all apprehension of 
malaria and assure us that the air, though a " little cool for 
summer." is free from the blood-poisoning sporia that, like 
Egypt's devouring locusts, swarm in the dense atmospheres of 
lowland swamps and in filthy docks of the heated cities. Here 
sleep is sweet, balmy and invigorating; the appetite quick- 



ened at the sight of savory dishes, and especially the far- 
famed " mountain mutton," with its sauces of mint. The 
enchantments of the mountain are medicinal, they calm and 
heal and, as Emerson says, "these are plain pleasures, kindly 
and native to us," and "at the gates of the forest the surprised 



man of the world is forced to leave behind his city estimates of 
great and small, wise and foolish. The knapsack of custom falls 
off his back with the first step he makes into these precincts." 

A short drive along the mountain side on the new road 
leading to Deer Park is the picturesque " Lake Youghiog- 
heny." From this up the mountain is laid a "tram way" for 
cars on which the hardy mountaineer brings down his timbers 
which he has prepared for transportation or for the B. & O. 
Road. Leaving the quiet water gleaming in the sunshine, 
to secure a further view of the bold mountain, and, taking 
our time, note here and there a mountain hut or a saw mill, 
or stray along the bounding streams where the angler is 
successfully tempting the speckled trout. Onward still and 
a sign-board points us to the "Boiling Spring"; we take the 
hint and press upwards and are fully rewarded. Near the 
spring a great avenue has been cut through the tall fir trees, 
and reminds one of the romance of some poet or legend- 
writer as he depicts the solemn spirit-haunted groves and the 
thickly shaded ways leading to some mystic grotto. 

If we had any "superstitious feelings," they have suddenly 
disappeared as we stand with the company of cheerful visitors 
gazing on the bubbling fountain or taking a draught of the 
cool, invigorating fluid. The spring is in the center of a rocky 
plateau; a wild-looking place, and may be, after all, some evil 
genius has presided here, if we may trace, in a strong imagina- 
tion, his footprints on the disordered rocks, and has been 
driven off forever by the advance of civilization. This spot is 
well worth a visit, and possesses particular interest. 

Eagle Rock is ascertained to be the highest point of the 
Alleghanies, and is a distance of about five miles from Mount- 
ain Lake. High on this pine-crowned height is a great 



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pyramid of rock; and on the very summit lie several of great 
size, as though Nature had placed them carefully as apices to 
the strange monument rearing its gigantic head above all its 
fellows. These, with broad, flattened surfaces, invite the 
sight-seer to climb upward and stand upon them to take a 
\ iew as impf)sing" as ever came before human vision, unpar- 
alleled in scope and unsurpassed in diversified natural beauty. 
It would seem almost incredible that the eye could take in 
such distant objects, but so it is that because of the altitude 
and rarefaction of the atmosphere scenes forty miles distant 
are distinguishable. 

Rational recreation implies something more than mere 
animal enjoyment. "Man is an animal that thinks." Modern 
resorts, therefore, are being planned on the principle that 
provision should be made for the healthful and pleasurable 
exercise of the mental faculties as well as of the physical 
power. To meet this demand the Mountain Lake Park Asso- 
ciation has set apart a magnificent grove for literary gather- 
ings, and has provided an ample auditorium for the accom- 
modation of assemblies. "A feast of fat things" has been 
arranged for this season. Chief among them is "The Assem- 
bly," to be held from August 14 to 29, consisting of a brilliant 
course of twenty lectures on literar)-, scientific and religious 
subjects, and, in addition to this Lecture Department, a S. S. 
Normal Department, a C. S. T. Department and a C. L. S. C. 
Department, these cabalistic letters indicating to all " Chau- 
tauquans" the fact that this is a Mountain Chautauqua. The 
programme contains the names of some of the most eminent 
lecturers of the American platform, and some of the best 
workers in fields of moral culture. The Assembly will be 
preceded by a " Summer School of Amateur Photography," 



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ENTKANCK TO THE AUDI lORIUM. 

hich is "somcthini^ new under the sun," and will, no doubt, 
cause an expression of pleased surprise to pass over the 
countenance of that bright luminary itself, which can hardly 
help smiling on the enterprise. The New York " Photographic 



Times'" says: "This is an excellent idea, and the management 
are to be congratulated on their discernment in perceiving the 
advantages of amateur photography as a source of recreative 
study and practice." The school will be under the direction of 
Prof. Charles F. Himes, l^h. D., of Dickinson College, Carlisle, 
Pa., who is one of the pioneer amateurs, a teacher of science, 
thoroughly in earnest and competent to make the enterprise 
a successful one. The picturesque features of the Park and its 
surroundings admirably adapt it to this purpose, and excur- 
sions with the camera will no doubt be as popular this season 
as botanical or merely recreative rambles have been hereto- 
fore. Of the many other plans for the employment and 
entertainment of visitors we have neither time nor space to 
speak. Suffice it to sa\^ that nowhere can a more healthful 
physical, social, literary or moral atmosphere be found than 
at Mountain Lake Park. Our artist has depicted some of its 
beauties, but to the eyes that have looked upon the skillful 
photographs and followed these lines, the lips of all who visit 
the real scenes described will surely say, "The half has not 
been told." During the season all trains on the B. & O. stop 
at Mountain Lake Park. 



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